We Are Forever
by a writer's puppet
Summary: Beca Mitchell, highly esteemed DJ and Music Producer, has a life many would envy. However, her past prevents her from moving forward in her dating life. Will a bright-eyed redhead change her view on relationships and help Beca finally move forward?
1. Chapter 1

Beca Mitchell stepped out of her studio, Titanium Records, and pulled her sunglasses out of her purse before whipping them on, sighing a relieved sigh when she saw that there were no lingering reporters around. She quickly made her way to her car, a grey Honda Civic, and entered the driver's seat. She discarded her purse into the passenger seat and started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot and on her way home.

She let her mind wander on her way there, despite it only being a 7 or so minute car ride. She thought about the upcoming album she was hired to produce, for none other than Demi Lovato. She was beyond excited when she saw the name and immediately agreed to take on the challenge.

She never imagined this life for herself. At 27 years old, she was a college graduate with a bachelor's degree in Psychology, but had instead chosen to pave her way into the music industry rather than pursue a career in her major. Her father had initially frowned upon this decision, but changed his mind quickly, especially after the uproar she caused in L.A.

Her journey to success was a difficult one. She had landed in L.A and had struggled massively financially, and was one week from getting evicted when a small recording studio took a chance on her. She immediately made an impact there, traversing through promotions like it was easy. She had produced albums for small, local bands, but her work wasn't gone unnoticed. Bigger record labels began taking interest in the small girl who had created names from these small bands.

And so, after a tearful goodbye at the small record label that had given her a chance, she started her job at a bigger label. She began getting more 'high-class' artists, and was being approached by managers from every direction. She was making more money than she knew what to do with, and she was over the moon. Eventually, the label asked her if she wanted to be the CEO of the new label they were opening, one she would have full control of, even the name. She of course accepted, naming the label "Titanium".

So now here she was, living a high profile life. She had four Grammy's under her belt, and she intended on winning more. However, she didn't let the fame get to her head. Together with her best friends Jesse Swanson and Stacie Conrad, she had a stellar support group underneath her.

She pulled into the driveway of her two-story house, chosen specifically because it was in a lowkey neighbourhood. She exited her car and made her way inside, groaning when she saw energy drinks all over her coffee table.

"Jesse Swanson!" she yelled over the music that was playing. It immediately quieted, and the face of the grinning boy popped up around a corner.

"Welcome home!" he said with a toothy smile. Beca rolled her eyes and pointed at her table.

"What the heck man, clean up after yourself maybe?"

The boy pouted. "You're early dude, I was going to before you got here."

Beca sighed but relented as the boy gathered his empty cans and threw them in the recycle bin. He returned back into the living room as she took off her shoes and hung up her jacket, and plopped himself back down onto the couch.

"So, what're the plans for tonight?"

Beca raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to bed."

Jesse shook his head fervently. "Becs, no! It's Friday night. C'mon, live a little!"

"Friday night, Monday night, Wednesday night, doesn't matter; I'm going to bed, dude."

"It's only 7pm Beca!"

"So what? I woke up at 5am this morning because _someone_ made a ton of noise because he fell down in the shower..."

Jesse had the decency to look sheepish at this, but continued on. "Beca, don't make me call Stacie."

She shook a finger at the boy, saying "Don't you dare," but Jesse already had his phone out and had dialed Stacie. She sighed heavily and sat down on the couch next to him, kicking his legs off her side.

"Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy, Stace!" Jesse said into the phone, making sure to draw out the hey as long as possible to annoy Beca. This earned him a slap on the arm, and he gave her a wounded look before saying:

"We're gonna hit up the town tonight, you should come with!"

Beca heard a laugh on the other side and some talking, but couldn't make out what the other girl was saying.

"Oh yeah, of course she's coming. She can't resist my manly charm."

Jesse yelped as he got hit on the arm again. He listened to Stacie for a couple more seconds, then looked over at the smaller brunette.

"Hey Becs, do you mind if Stacie brings a date and her date's friend? She's been raving about this chick for days now and I want to meet her."

Beca loftily waved a hand at the other to signify yes. Jesse smirked at her before telling Stacie, who confirmed their plans. They said goodbye to each other and Jesse hung up.

"They'll be here in like half an hour. Can you drive?"

"It's not like you're gonna give me any other choice," Beca grumbled. "But yeah, sure." She stood and walked into her bedroom. "I'm gonna get ready!" She heard a grunt of acknowledgement and rolled her eyes.

She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed, but smiled to herself. Her friends were overbearing sometimes, but she secretly loved it. They really helped her let loose and relax, even when she claimed she didn't want to.

She quickly dressed into casual attire; black skinny jeans with a black tank-top, and since it was somewhat chilly outside, put on a maroon bomber jacket. She quickly fixed her makeup and put in earrings, and walked out of her room.

She was met with Jesse, who had decided to wear his signature maroon jacket. She looked at him with a death stare and said, "Choose a different jacket."

He began to protest; "But Becs this is my favourite and we can mat-"

"That's the point, doofus!" she retorted, before shoving him towards him room in the house. "Change!" However, she couldn't keep up the death stare; she started to laugh as she watched Jesse walk back into his room, a defeated puppy look on his face. He re-emerged a minute later now wearing a leather jacket.

"Satisfied?"

She gave him a coy smirk and said, "Oh, I wasn't ever _un_ satisfied. It's just funny watching you scramble."

He gave her a light smack on the shoulder and laughed, but his retort was squashed by the sound of the doorbell.

"That's them!" Jesse said brightly, before walking to the door and opening it.

"Hey Stace- ow!" Beca laughed as she watched the tall brunette push the boy out of the way but her laugh was cut short by the pair of boobs that her face got pushed into.

"Becs!" Stacie squealed. "I missed you!"

Beca flailed away from her. "Air, Stace, I need air!" Stacie stepped back with a faux sheepish look on her face, and Beca couldn't stop the smile from spreading on her face.

"Beca, I want you to meet someone!"

"Are you going to introduce me too?" Jesse complained from the door that he was holding open for the other guests.

"In due time, you nerd," Stacie replied, and she dragged in the two other girls. Beca first saw a tall blonde girl, whose posture suddenly made Beca want to salute or something. But after seeing the girl behind the blonde, her jaw dropped slightly.

She was slightly shorter than the blonde, and had fiery red hair. Beca had seen redheads before, but none of them compared to this girl. She was wearing a navy blue dress that stopped at her knees, and Beca soon realised that they brought out the most captivating part of her: her eyes. Her eyes were so blue: bluer than anything she had ever seen before.

Jesse nudged her to get her out of her stupor; something she was grateful for. She made her way over to Stacie and the two girls and held out her hand nervously.

"Hi, I'm Beca. Beca Mitchell."

There was silence in the house. Beca, sensing that something in the atmosphere had changed, raised her hand to run it through her hair, attempting but failing to look as if she was never trying to shake their hand in the first place.

"Stace..." the blonde began. Stacie looked at the blonde with a cheeky grin. "Why the _hell_ didn't you tell me we were going to be partying with _BECA MITCHELL_ tonight?"

The grin never left Stacie's face as she replied, "This was my surprise!"

"What kind of-"

"Hi!" The redhead interrupted before Aubrey could have a fangirl panic attack. She stretched out her hand to shake Beca's and said, "My name's Chloe!"

Beca, upon contact with the other girl, froze. She forgot to speak for a second before realising that she was expected to reply.

"Hi, Chloe. Lovely name."

Chloe beamed at her, and Beca half wanted to look around to see if there were rainbows shooting out from her, she looked that peppy.

"What's your friend's name? I feel like she either doesn't like me, or she's too much in shock to say anything. I hope it's the latter, honestly, I don't like being disliked."

Chloe giggled, and Beca relished that sound. "Her name is Aubrey, and no, she doesn't dislike you. Quite the opposite, actually. I'm pretty sure 80% of the songs we play in our house is produced by you."

"What about the other 20%?" Beca teased.

"Oh, that's all Ace of Base." Chloe said.

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope."

"So you're serious?"

"Dixie Chicks serious." Chloe laughed.

"Well then, that's definitely interesting!"

She then looked over to the pair standing next to her, who had ceased their squabble to watch the two interact. Beca smiled at Aubrey and stretched out her arm again.

"Nice to meet you, Aubrey,"

She smirked when the blonde stiffly shook her hand, biting her lip as if to control herself. At this, Beca couldn't resist.

"Want an autograph?"

Aubrey stole her hand back from the brunette and her eyes widened.

"Oh, uh-"

"She does!" Chloe interjected. "But if she gets one, I get one!" the redhead winked at Beca, who laughed and retreated back in her room to grab two CD's that had all of the songs she had produced burned onto them. Before joining them back in the living room where she could hear Jesse being introduced, she signed them with each of their names. Satisfied, she returned and handed the two girls their CDs, which subsequently made them squeal in joy. She grimaced at the shrill noise, but smiled awkwardly anyways.

"Alright, ladies! Let's go, shall we?" Jesse said, ushering them out the door. "Beca will be our chauffeur tonight."

"Ooh, in that case, shotgun!" Chloe said, instantly earning a pout from Jesse.

"You're gonna make me third wheel?"

Chloe gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry buddy, the rules are the rules!"

Beca laughed loudly at the wounded look on the boy's face, and could see the relieved look on Stacie's face that the two newcomers were fitting in so well. Jesse admitted defeat and climbed into the backseat of Beca's car, with Stacie and Aubrey following.

"Looks like we're buddies tonight!" Chloe teased, and Beca felt a blush start to form on her face.

"Yeah, I guess we are." She hopped into the driver's seat and pulled out of her driveway, smiling to herself as she heard her car come to life with conversation. And when she looked to her right and saw a beaming redhead, she could really feel the start of something new.


	2. Chapter 2

"Where to, Jess?" Beca asked when there was a momentary lapse in conversation.

"Karaoke?" came his hopeful reply. She sighed, about to protest, but Chloe spoke her support.

"That sounds so fun! Aubrey and I were in an acapella group back in college." her eyes twinkled as she remembered the old days. "We were the tits."

Beca raised an eyebrow at the description, but relented.

"Karaoke it is."

Jesse let out a whoop in celebration, impressed that Chloe had made their grumpy friend agree so fast. Maybe it was a good thing that Stacie had wanted to bring them so badly.

They reached their destination quickly, and Beca was relieved to see there were no reporters outside the karaoke bar, seeing as it was more low-key than the more popular ones in town. Jesse scrambled out of the backseat in excitement when she parked, and Beca internally rolled her eyes at the boy, but joined him outside.

"So, what're we doing tonight?" Stacie asked. "Should we pick our own songs, or pick each other's?"

"Let's pick our own, please." Beca said immediately. She didn't want to have to sing whatever embarrassing song they would pick for her, and the smirk on Stacie's face only reaffirmed her choice.

"Yeah, let's not torture our lovely guests first night," Jesse laughed. "Also, I think a few of my studio buddies are gonna be joining us later tonight, I hope that's cool with you guys."

"Benji?" Beca asked hopefully. The nerdy boy was one of the few normal ones that didn't relentlessly tease her, and his company was much enjoyed, despite his overwhelming magic tricks.

Jesse smiled happily, "Yeah, and maybe Donald if he can make it out. But definitely Benji."

They began walking towards the entrance. Once inside, Stacie beelined for the bar, dragging Aubrey along behind her. The other three chose a booth table near the karaoke stage, with Chloe and Beca sitting next to each other and Jesse on the opposite side.

"You guys keep making me third wheel," he complained, but the look on his face gave away the fact that he didn't really mind.

Beca uncharacteristically stuck her tongue out at the boy as the couple came back to join them.

"Shots for all us, bitches!" Stacie said mischievously, laying down a tray full of them on the table. "Two each, then we're all gonna go up and queue a song to sing. Capisce?"

The entire tabled nodded and threw back a shot, with only Jesse grimacing at the taste.

"I don't know how you guys do it," he murmured disgustedly, and made his way over to the bar to get himself a beer. Chloe laughed at his antics, and Beca decided to join him as to not say anything stupid to the redhead.

"Want anything?" she asked the table, although her eyes stayed on Chloe.

As they listed off their drink orders, she made her way to the bar, but could feel Chloe's eyes following her. She grimaced a bit to herself; the redhead was gorgeous, that was for sure. The butterflies in her stomach proved that.

She sighed as she thought about it, brushing off the feelings. She couldn't start liking someone, not again. She didn't have the time or the emotional strength for it, not again. She looked over at her table; Jesse had gotten his beer and was back at the table, greeting Benji, who had just arrived. Chloe was laughing at something Benji said, which wasn't surprising; the quirky boy always made everyone smile. Stacie had her arm around Aubrey and her smile looked like it was going to split her face in half. Aubrey was a bit more reserved, but Beca could tell that she was already loosening up around the group.

Since their drinks were ready, Beca took them all back to the group after making sure Benji's usual was on the tray.

She placed down the tray on the table and gave them a lopsided smile, which was returned by a bright smile from Chloe.

Stacie grabbed her and Aubrey's drink. "It's time to get wild, bitches!" She nudged Jesse and Benji out of the way, and made her way out of the booth, Aubrey in hand. Without another word, they made their way up to the DJ to queue up their songs, the rest of the group following behind excitedly. Chloe and Beca made up the back.

"What song are you going to sing?" Chloe asked. Beca smirked at her.

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out."

Chloe raised an eyebrow at her but grinned sweetly. "It'd better be a good one then!"

They all chose their songs and made their way back to the booth, drinking and waiting for their turn.

Benji of course showed off his magic tricks to the two newcomers, who were impressed by his talent.

"Alright everybody, up next is...Stacie Conrad!" the DJ said into the loudspeaker, and Stacie took another shot before standing up for her turn. Beca watched Aubrey's eyes follow Stacie to the stage adoringly, and mentally approved the blonde for her best friend. They all got up and went to the stage, cheering Stacie on as she sang her rendition of "Timber", doing what she did best - dancing provocatively.

After Stacie was Aubrey, who, to Beca's immense relief, didn't sing anything Ace of Base. Beca smiled appreciatively at her song choice, which was "Sweater Weather". Following Aubrey was Benji, who sang "Walking on a Dream", and then Jesse, whose version of "All Time Low" made the group laugh for a good few minutes after he was done. He looked so proud of himself afterwards, which made them laugh more. Aubrey complimented his singing capabilities, and he thanked her with a bright smile.

Chloe took her place on the stage next, and the group quieted themselves to listen to her sing. The opening bars of the song took Beca by surprise, but was quickly enamored by the the voice on stage.

 _You shout it out_

 _But I can't hear a word you say_

 _I'm talking loud not saying much_

 _I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet_

 _You shoot me down, but I get up_

Beca wondered if Chloe knew that this song was the reason her record label was named "Titanium" in the first place, but those thoughts were washed away when Chloe looked at her and winked.

 _I'm bulletproof nothing to lose_

 _Fire away, fire away_

 _Ricochet, you take your aim_

 _Fire away, fire away_

 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_

 _You shoot me down but I won't fall_

 _I am titanium, I am titanium, I am titanium, I am titanium_

Beca was absolutely floored by the redhead's singing capabilities. Her jaw was agape, but in the corner of her eye saw that the rest of her friends had the same reaction, with just Aubrey having a smug expression on her face as she watched her best friend perform, adoringly.

...

 _Stone-hard, machine gun_  
 _Firing at the ones who run_  
 _Stone-hard, thus bulletproof glass_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_  
 _You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium_  
 _I am titanium_

They all jumped and screamed for the redhead, who blushed and walked of the stage.

"Holy shit, Chloe!" Jesse exclaimed. "That was incredible!"

Chloe smiled at him and said, "Thanks!" before looking at Beca, who was still in a stupor after watching her perform.

"Wow," was all she could say. Chloe giggled and gently closed Beca's mouth, who snapped out of it and said, "Holy fuck. That was amazing." and then she smirked.

"Did you choose that song on purpose!?"

Chloe gave her a coy smile and opened her mouth to respond when the DJ called, "Next up.. Beca Mitchell! Wait.. holy shit! Beca Mitchell!?"

Beca gave Chloe a look that said 'this isn't over' and sauntered up the steps to the stage, winking at the DJ who looked at her with an awestruck expression on his face. The second the small crowd saw the small music producer on the stage, they went wild.

Screams of "holy fuck!" and "It's Beca Mitchell!" were heard throughout, and Beca smiled, genuinely appreciating her fans. Music trickled out of the speakers and she began singing, enjoying the looks of shock on Aubrey and Chloe's face.

 _I knew you were_  
 _You were gonna come to me_  
 _And here you are_  
 _But you better choose carefully_  
 _'Cause I'm capable of anything_  
 _Of anything and everything_  
 _Make me your Aphrodite_  
 _Make me your one and only_  
 _But don't make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy_

She looked down and saw the adoring smiles of her best friends and almost laughed when she saw that Aubrey and Chloe still had the dumbfounded look on their face. Beca began moving her hips to the music, and winked at Chloe when she saw the redhead following her every move.

 _So you wanna play with magic_  
 _Boy, you should know whatcha falling for_  
 _Baby do you dare to do this_  
 _'Cause I'm coming atcha like a dark horse_  
 _Are you ready for, ready for_  
 _A perfect storm, a perfect storm_  
 _'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine_  
 _There's no going back_

Beca smirked as her favourite part of the song came up. If she didn't have them woo'd before, she knew she was going to definitely do it now. She made eye contact with Chloe, who was staring right back.

 _She's a beast, I call her Karma_  
 _She eat your heart out; Like Jeffrey Dahmer_  
 _Be careful, try not to lead her on_  
 _Shawty's heart was on steroids 'cause her love was so strong_  
 _You may fall in love when you meet her_  
 _If you get the chance you better keep her_  
 _She swears by it but if you break her heart_  
 _She turn cold as a freezer_  
 _That fairy tale ending with a knight in shining armor_  
 _She can be my Sleeping Beauty, I'm gon' put her in a coma_  
 _Woo! Damn I think I love her, Shawty so bad I'm sprung and I don't care_  
 _She got me like a roller coaster turn the bedroom into a fair_  
 _Her love is like a drug I was tryna hit it and quit it_  
 _But lil' mama so dope I messed around and got addicted_

She watched as Chloe's eyes got filled with lust, and quickly looked away as she felt her stomach fill with butterflies at that look. She instead watched Jesse and Benji try (and fail) to dance along, and she grinned as she finished the song.

 _So you wanna play with magic  
_ _Boy, you should know whatcha falling for  
_ _Baby do you dare to do this  
_ _'Cause I'm coming atcha like a dark horse  
_ _Are you ready for, ready for  
_ _A perfect storm, a perfect storm  
_ _'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine  
_ _There's no going back_

She finished with the microphone clasped in her left hand and the mic stand in her right, splayed behind her. The entire room filled with applause and whistles, and she smiled before making leaving the stage.

"That was a performance from BECA MITCHELL!" The DJ shouted, which spurted more cheers. The group made their way back to their booth, smiling and laughing at the applause.

"Great job, Becs!" Jesse said. "As usual." he added as an after statement. Beca rolled her eyes but smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks, Jess."

"Okay, what the HELL was that!?" Chloe said, her eyes filled with admiration. "How the heck does the world not know you can sing like that!?"

Aubrey nodded vigorously. "Beca, you seriously need to drop an album or something. _That_ was incredible."

Beca smiled shyly. "I've actually been thinking about it, but I'm not too sure. There are so many other, better voices out there."

Chloe slapped her lightly on the shoulder. "That's what everyone says! But Beca, you have such real talent. I still can't get over it!"

Stacie smirked. "We've been trying to tell her this for _years_! She always says the same thing."

Jesse and Benji looked at each other and nodded. "Yeah Becs, you have a one-of-a-kind voice. You would totally blow up."

Beca cringed at his word choice, and Jesse laughed. "No but really, you'd go #1 so fast, every other artist is gonna look at each other and just give up. No way can they compete with you, dude."

Beca rolled her eyes, "Yeah, let's not over-exaggerate here."

"Guys, let's all sing a group song!" Stacie interjected, seeing Beca begin to recede back into herself. She knew she did the right thing when the music producer gave her a grateful smile, and the group made their way up to sign themselves up for a "Bohemian Rhapsody" group song. Beca let loose all thoughts of liking Chloe and creating an album, even though everytime she looked over at the redhead, a stream of butterflies erupted in her stomach again. Instead, she danced along to the song with her friends, harmonizing and laughing. She didn't know the last time she had had this much fun, and she was grateful that Jesse had dragged her out.

After their song, they lazed around in the booth for another hour before agreeing that it was time to go home. They all said their goodbyes to Benji and hopped back into Beca's car, who was surprised that there were still no reporters outside the bar, even after her solo had definitely been posted on the internet.

Jesse fell asleep almost immediately in the backseat, his light snoring filling up the car. Beca tossed the aux cord to Chloe, who took it gratefully as she grimaced at the snoring. Stacie and Aubrey talked quietly amongst each other, which left Beca and Chloe to talk.

"So, what do you think about our best friends being together?" Chloe asked, keeping her voice low so their friends didn't eavesdrop.

"I like Aubrey, she seems nice. But she has that 'uptight' thing going on, but I think that's good for Stacie. She's super smart, but she tends to party a lot."

Chloe laughed, "That's actually exactly why I think Stacie's perfect for Aubrey. I think they mellow each other out."

Beca smiled and agreed quietly, before pulling up in her driveway.

"Well guys, we're home!" she said, turning to the girls in the back before shoving Jesse lightly against the door. He woke with a start, but quickly came back to reality.

"You guys are sleeping here tonight. There's no way I'm letting you drive home." Beca announced.

"That's very sweet of you, thank you." Aubrey smiled at the brunette, who assured her that it was no problem. Once inside, she let Aubrey and Stacie share a room with a strict "I better not hear you guys get frisky" rule from Beca. Jesse retreated to his room, and Beca gave Chloe clothes to change in.

"You can sleep in my bed, I'll be on the couch if you need me."

Chloe began to protest. "This is your house, I can't take your couch!"

Beca shook her head. "It's no problem, I tend to sleep there a lot anyways. Take my bed."

Chloe looked like she was going to protest some more, but nodded and gave her a small "Thank you," before retreating into the bathroom to change. Beca went into her room and changed quickly, making sure everything was tidy for Chloe to sleep comfortably. Once satisfied, she made her way back into the living room and almost bumped into the redhead, who had finished changing and was entering the bedroom.

"Goodnight, Beca," Chloe murmured tiredly, and Beca said goodnight back before making her way back to the couch, exhausted. She laid down and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

Much to her dismay, but also to her enjoyment, she dreamed of bright blue eyes and the kindest smile she's ever seen.

* * *

 **Thank you guys for your support!**

 **Songs used in this chapter were:**

 **Timber by Pitbull ft Ke$ha**

 **Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood**

 **Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun**

 **Titanium by David Guetta ft. Sia**

 **Dark Horse by Katy Perry ft. Juicy J**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the delay on this update! College has started back up so I've been covered in homework, again. College professors sure do love giving out work! Thanks for the reviews, and please leave some more for this chapter! I love you awesome nerds :)**

* * *

Chloe woke up the next morning with a dull ache in her head. She sat up and groaned, stretching her arms above her head before blinking blearily and taking in her unfamiliar surroundings. She then remembered the events of last night; karaoke, the cuteness of Beca Mitchell, and the relief that Stacie was perfect for her best friend.

As she began becoming more awake, she smelled coffee and bacon, and that was enough to coax her out of bed. She replaced the blanket neatly, even though it hadn't been made when she had slept in it last night.

When Chloe looked to her left, she saw a nightstand. She smiled brightly when she saw a glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen, which she took two of gratefully. She then made her way out of the room with the glass of water in her hand.

She followed the sound of Beca's voice singing along quietly to the Bluetooth speaker in the kitchen. Once there, she stood in the doorway, leaning on the wall, watching the smaller girl sway to the music as she scrambled some eggs.

"Good morning," a voice behind Chloe made her jump. She turned around and saw the smiling face of Jesse, and tried to keep her face from heating up.

"G'morning," she mumbled, and made her way into the kitchen, where Beca had noticed her guests had awoken.

Jesse grabbed a mug from a cupboard before offering it to Chloe, who took it graciously and filled it with coffee from the pot. Jesse poured himself a cup as well before taking a seat at the kitchen island, putting his head down to rest on his arms before groaning.

"My head hurts."

"That's because you have the tolerance of squirrel, Swanson," Beca smirked, before placing a plate of food in front of him. She turned to Chloe and asked sweetly, "How do you like your eggs?"

Chloe smiled at how nice the girl was, and told her that scrambled was just fine before taking a sip of coffee.

Beca placed a plate of breakfast in front of her, and she murmured a 'thank you' before digging in. A few minutes later, Stacie made her noisy entrance, yawning. She took Jesse's mug of coffee and took a big drink.

"Hey!" Jesse protested.

"Sorry, buddy," Stacie said, fighting back another yawn. "I'm way too tired and hungover to be awake at this hour."

"You're the one who forced us to take shots all night." Jesse grumbled, but got up to make another cup for himself anyways. Chloe giggled at their antics, the entire trio reminded her of her and her brothers at home.

"Where's Aubrey?" Beca asked, placing another plate in front of Stacie.

"Taking a shower." Stacie replied in between mouthful of eggs.

"She has a pretty strict morning routine," Chloe laughed. "But she likes her eggs scrambled too."

Beca hummed appreciatively, "Thanks." and returned to the stove.

Stacie and Jesse exchanged a knowing look before taking another sip of their coffee.

"So what's the plan for today?" Beca asked, plating Aubrey's food carefully.

"Wait," Jesse said, appalled. " _You're_ asking what we're doing today? You mean you're not gonna spend your Saturday being a hermit?"

Beca sent the boy a playful glare. "No, actually. It's my day off from the studio today, and you know how rare that is. Demi is still finishing up her tour so I have a bit of time to relax before I'm totally swamped."

Jesse smiled sheepishly. "You're right, I forgot, sorry. I just forget you're famous sometimes."

Chloe had stopped eating. She, too, had forgotten. Despite her and Aubrey's fangirl moment when face-to-face with the brunette last night, that feeling had quickly disappeared after spending time with her. The younger girl was just so down to earth and nothing like the media made her out to be; snooty and reclusive.

Their banter was cut short when Aubrey entered the room, giving everyone a soft smile.

"Good morning!" she chirped, taking the seat in between Chloe and Stacie.

"It is way too early to be that happy," Jesse complained. "Why aren't you suffering from a hangover like the rest of us?"

"Oh, I am," Aubrey replied, resting her head on Stacie's shoulder for a brief moment. "I'm just better at not complaining about it than you,"

And although she tried, she couldn't stifle the grin that plastered on her face at the end of her sentence, finding it so easy to tease the boy, whose face turned aghast.

"Beca, they've barely been integrated into this group yesterday and they're already as mean to me as you are!"

Beca laughed, setting the plate full of Aubrey's food in front of the blonde, "Sometimes, I feel bad, but more often, I don't."

Aubrey smiled gratefully at Beca at the sight of breakfast, and said thank you before copying the actions of everyone else at the table.

Stacie got up from the island quickly to fill a mug with coffee, handing it to the blonde after sitting back down. Aubrey smiled at the tall brunette and resumed eating.

"Aren't you going to eat too, Becs?" Chloe asked. The DJ shook her head, taking a seat at the head of the island, cradling her coffee between her hands.

"I don't like eating breakfast, it makes my stomach upset for the rest of the day."

Aubrey frowned. "That doesn't sound too healthy."

Beca shrugged. "Haven't died yet, I suppose." Changing the subject, she asked her question again. "So, what are the plans for today?"

"Movies?" Jesse asked excitedly, but was quickly shot down by a glare from Beca. "Nevermind."

"What's wrong with the movies?" Chloe questioned.

"Beca hates them," Jesse pouted. "And therefore she hates me."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Movies are predictable, and they're just... _so_ long!"

Chloe took this answer and shrugged. "Sounds like you haven't been watching the right movies!"

The brunette shook her head fervently in response. "No, no. Jesse has been shoving movies down my throat since like, elementary school. There's no chance."

Chloe relented, and the group settled in silence for a couple minutes as they finished breakfast.

"Oh, what about this? There's an escape room like, ten minutes away from here!" Stacie suggested.

"That actually sounds really fun right now." Beca admitted, a smile forming on her face.

"Yeah! We should try to do the hardest one, too!"

"I swear, we are children sometimes." Beca said, which had the table erupting in laughter. The plates were gathered and put in the sink, and Beca urged everyone to go get ready while she'd handle the dishes. Aubrey protested, saying that they could help, but she was shooed away.

As the rest of the group made their way upstairs, Chloe decided to linger behind. Beca began humming as she washed the dishes, and she watched the brunette with affection in her eyes.

"I was being serious yesterday, you know," she said, smiling when she saw the brunette jump, startled by her presence.

"Which part?" Beca asked, and then added, "And why aren't you upstairs getting ready?"

"You should totes make an album! You're always producing, but I feel like you'd be a kickass solo artist."

"Totes?" Beca laughed, raising an eyebrow. "And yeah, I guess so. It's an idea I've always had, but it's just on the backburner. Too many artists want to work with me, so I'm always way too busy."

She then blushed furiously. "Wait, no, that sounded so pretentious. I swear I'm not a huge dick."

"Don't worry, Becs, I know!" Chloe reassured. She found it really endearing that the music producer wanted to keep an air of humility around her, never flaunting her wealth or making anyone feel beneath her. Despite only having met the girl last night, Chloe felt an uncontrollable connection with the girl that she couldn't stop.

Unbeknownst to her, Beca was having the same battle. She didn't want to like Chloe. She knew she couldn't, and she wanted to stop the feeling she was having towards the redhead. Every part of the other girl drew her closer, and she couldn't help but wonder if spending more time with her today was such a good idea. However, she couldn't back out now; she was the one who wanted to know what the plans for the day were in the first place.

The internal battle Beca was having with herself made a silence fall upon the pair. Chloe, sensing the other girl was thinking hard about something, patted the brunette on the back and murmured that she was going to get ready. Beca nodded and returned to her thoughts.

Beca couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she had barely met the redhead last night. She felt immediately comfortable with the girl, and wasn't as standoffish with her as she had been with Aubrey. She didn't know why that was, but the last time that had happened, Beca had been left in heartbreak.

After washing the last dish and placing it on the dish rack, she made a mental decision that she wouldn't allow herself to get any closer to Chloe. After what happened last time, she couldn't afford to go through that kind of heartbreak ever again, and even if Chloe had good intentions, some things she couldn't control.

So Beca sighed and wiped her hands on the towel that was wrapped around the oven handle, and made her way upstairs to get ready herself.

By the time everybody was ready, it was 1pm; Stacie had made a reservation for them at the escape room at 3pm, so they had two hours to kill.

"Let's go to the mall!" someone suggested; Beca didn't know who, she just groaned.

"I'm guessing I'm driving again?" she asked.

"Nope, I am!" Stacie chirped, her keys dangling in between her fingers. "I know that if I let you drive, you'll probably go somewhere _not_ the mall."

Beca sighed, "Foiled again," before making her way out the door to Stacie's car.

"Beca sit in the middle!" Jesse yelled out the door. The girl glowered at him, but sat in the middle anyways. He settled himself next to her, with Chloe sitting to her right.

"Thanks," he smirked. "You're so small, that it only makes sense for us _tall_ people to get leg room."

"Chloe is like, two inches taller than me!" Beca retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. The two kept up the banter for the entirety of the car ride to the mall, everyone laughing at their antics. As Stacie parked, Beca began grumbling about how she's been forced into this outing, and took up the back of the group as they walked in.

An hour later, the group found themselves in the food court to eat before they were to make their way to the escape room. As they were chattering amongst themselves, Aubrey looked over at Beca and Chloe, who were having their own conversation. And she couldn't help but note how well they seemed to get along. She softly nudged Stacie and raised an eyebrow towards the pair, and the tall brunette grinned. She opened her mouth to tease Beca, but Aubrey gently kicked her under the table and shook her head, telling her not to interrupt.

After lunch, the group eagerly made their way back to the car, stowing their bags from their shopping trips into the trunk of Stacie's car and finally making their way to the escape room. No one was more excited than Jesse, who had probably done at least seven escape rooms previously.

Ten minutes later they finally pulled into the parking lot of the small building, and made their way inside.

"Hi!" a blonde girl approached them in the lobby. She looked about 25, a bright smile on her face.

"Hello," Stacie smiled. "We booked a room for 3pm? Under Stacie Conrad."

The girl tapped some buttons on her iPad before looking up. "Okay, awesome! I'm just gonna have you all step over here and sign some waivers, and then we'll get you started right away!"

After signing their waivers, the girl (who introduced herself to be Brooklyn) listed off the rules and procedures that went on during an escape room. They had a total of three hints that would be given if they were particularly stuck on a part, and an hour to unlock the code to a safe that would stop a bomb from exploding.

They were blindfolded and led to their room, and were told to listen to the instructions carefully first before taking off the blindfolds. They did as they were told, ripping off the blindfolds when the instructions were complete and quickly splitting apart to scour the room for clues.

Beca took a look around. On the floor was tape in the shape of a human body. On the ceiling were numbers. She saw multiple filing cabinets lining one wall, and a desk opposite of it. Next to the desk was another door, with a keypad lock on it.

"Oh, I found some pencils!" Jesse exclaimed. In his hands were two green pencils and one red one. He put them on the table and went back to looking for more. Beca found a key, and quickly matched it to a lock on a filing cabinet. She grinned when the lock popped open, and opened the filing cabinet. Inside were two blue pencils and another green one. She looked around to see what they could stand for, and saw a combination lock on a desk drawer. The combination was a three lock code, and each column was coloured red, blue, and green.

"Okay, so the amount of pencils correspond with the number to this lock." she called over to Jesse, who nodded.

Beca turned each number to the amount of pencils they had already found, so it would automatically unlock when they had found all of them. She left the pencil finding job to Jesse, and reached back into the filing cabinet, where she found a laminated piece of paper.

She handed it to Aubrey to read out loud, telling her she was going to look for more clues.

"Kelly Widener and Shane Davis, code name Black Rook and White Bishop, investigated the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas for possible suspects."

"Oh, is that what these are for, maybe?" Chloe asked, holding a palm-sized drawstring bag containing two chess pieces - a black rook and a white bishop.

"I guess so," Aubrey replied, taking the pieces and placing them on the desk table with the rest of the pencils.

Jesse had found four more pencils; one red, two green, and one blue. He moved the numbers on the combination lock accordingly, and yelped in excitement when the lock popped open. He opened the desk drawer, and inside was a box, with a map of the west coast on it. He flipped the box around and heard something inside, but raised his eyebrows quizzically when he saw that there was no lock, anywhere. He tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge, despite there being a line that indicated it should open.

They then left that on the desk drawer as well, opting to instead try to solve the other puzzles first. Ten minutes later, they had solved a couple more puzzles but didn't know how else to progress. It was then that Beca let out an expletive.

"Guys, we're so dumb!" she exclaimed. She flipped the box so that the map was facing upwards. She then took the chess pieces and placed them on San Francisco and Los Angeles. Nothing happened, so she frowned. She then swapped the pieces, and the box opened. The group shouted in excitement.

"That's so cool!" Stacie shouted, and they all huddled around to see what was in the box. There were two black lights and a long piece of rope. Beca took one of the lights and gave the other to Aubrey, and instructed someone to turn off the lights. Together, they searched every corner of the room for anything that might help them.

Aubrey scanned her light over the tape on the floor, and gasped when she saw words written on the tape.

" **LOOK UP"**

They all simultaneously looked up, but only saw the numbers that were there when they walked in.

"That gives us nothing." Aubrey frowned.

"Wait!" Jesse said. He flopped to the floor and Beca raised an eyebrow at him, laughing.

"What the heck are you doing, dude?"

"Just wait!" he retorted, and shuffled into the tape. He positioned his body to fit into the tape, and the group gawked.

"I didn't even think of that," Aubrey admitted, and Stacie nodded.

"See anything?" Chloe asked, and Jesse squinted his eyes a bit.

"Okay, so, the numbers are all just a jumbled mess when we just look up. But from down here..."

He tilted his head a bit, and to his delight, the numbers lined up in a straight line.

"Bingo."

Beca made her way to the door and told Jesse to recount the numbers.

"7, 3, 4, 2, 2, 5, 6."

The keypad beeped and flashed green, and the door clicked open. Jesse scrambled to his feet excitedly. "Yes!" he punched the air.

"Guys we only have 6 minutes left!" Chloe exclaimed, and the group rushed into the next room. In the room they saw a line of lockers, like at a school. On the adjacent wall was the safe they had to open in order to disarm the bomb.

They pried open the lockers, as there were no locks on them, and written in them were roman numerals and arrows.

"Okay, start here?" Beca asked, referring to the top left locker. In it was a roman numeral 5, as well as an arrow pointing down. They followed the arrows and were left with the numbers 5, 3, 7, and 1. They tried inputting those numbers into the combination lock of the safe, but to no avail.

"Three minutes!" Jesse yelled, panicking.

"Try it backwards!" Beca shouted, as the other three scoured the room for more clues.

Struck with a sudden thought, Beca turned off the lights, much to the shock of the girls, who squealed.

"What the hell Beca!?" Stacie exclaimed.

"Just watch!" she shined the blacklight around the room, and saw more roman numerals written on the walls, as well as different numbers written underneath them. "The rope!" she said, grabbing the rope. Starting at roman numeral 5, she extended the rope to 3, then to 7, then to 1. When she tied the rope around a hook that was under the number one, the ceiling opened and one last laminated piece of paper floated out.

With thirty seconds left, they scrambled for the paper and screamed out the combination.

"6, 2, 4, 8!"

Jessie hurriedly input the code, and the safe swung open. Inside was a button, and he basically punched it. The T.V in the other room began emitting a victory bell, and the group all grinned at each other.

"We did it!"

Brooklyn came into the room, smiling at the group.

"You guys did it with 4 seconds left!" she said happily. Chloe and Beca high fived each other, laughing.

"We're so fucking good."

The group walked out of the room, still laughing. Their grins were extra wide for the picture they took, and they walked out of the escape room building after saying their goodbyes and thank yous to Brooklyn.

They all then piled into Stacie's car, who started it and turned around to wink at her passengers.

"So, what next?"


End file.
